The present research demonstrates that symbolic boundaries such as political borders act as psychological buffers. Across six experiments (N = 583) we demonstrate that consumers prefer to avoid crossing a town border to reach a store (experiments 1 and 2), even when no visual cues are provided...

Consumers often use luxury products to signal their aspirational selves. In social media, consumers can publicly affiliate with such products and brands virtually without having to physically own them. This research demonstrates how social media can enable consumers to engage with aspirational...